A Historic Move from Major League Baseball

If you've been a subscriber to my page or supported me in general for the last several years, I've talked about numerous topics that needed to be discussed, from politics to social justice issues. On the other hand, unfortunately, there are those who believe that the country and society is too "woke", whatever their definition of that is. In other words, they're highly against diversity and inclusion for all people and other things: ideas that oppose their own personal views. Before I start the latest news I want to share with everyone, I want to offer the following disclaimer to the easily offended.

Disclaimer: I write stories that might be relatable to my loyal readers and subscribers on Vocal. To the people who think that everything that people do is woke, this message is for you. It's important to not look for problems or make connections in everything when they're aren't any. Second, having an open mind instead of being dismissive of other's thoughts or ideas is what we've been taught as humans. You may not agree with one's ideas, but being overly sensitive about the smallest things will make you become unlikable in life. Equality and diversity in sports, tv, movies, etc. is not a personal attack towards you or your personal beliefs. Representation in the aforementioned areas is important, because people can relate to another person or fictional character. As a creator on this site, I advocate for different causes, such as LGBTQ+ rights, equal rights for all women, mental health awareness, and so on. Just because you can't relate to someone's experiences, it doesn't make it woke or it means that you can't care about others. If me writing about stuff that you would consider as "woke", then that's a you problem. I urge you to gain some perspective and accept people and things for what they are. You can't control wokeness, because it's not going to go away anytime soon. Neither is diversity, representation, and inclusion of everything and everybody in the media. It's not my job to talk about stuff I care about in a certain way, just because you might feel uncomfortable. One of the rules in life is that you can't control everyone and everything. If something doesn't apply to you, please move on and leave people alone. Have a tougher skin and stop looking for problems when they're aren't any. I'll never apologize for the things I write about and will always stand by my stories.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, the latest story earlier this week from Major League Baseball is not only overdue, but also an important one.

Recently, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced that Negro Leagues stats are officially combined with MLB statistics. More than 2,300 players who played in the Negro Leagues from 1920-1948 were included in MLB's database. You've probably heard of some of the players I'll be highlighting in this story, but for the ones that don't, I highly recommend that you read about most of those players.

Here are some of the most notable changes:

Josh Gibson: Surpasses Ty Cobb (.367) with a .372 batting average, which ranks at the top of this category 70 years after his 1947 death

Satchel Paige: Single-season earned run average, or ERA, with 1.01 (1944), which is third overall

Buck Leonard: His on-base percentage, or OBP, .450, is fifth overall in this category

Oscar Charleston: Career batting average was .363, which is third overall in this category

The most pressing question that's probably on everyone's mind is will the late, great Hank Aaron be recognized as having the most home runs of all time? The answer to that is no. Aaron's 755 home runs will be left unchanged. Aaron, who passed away in 2021, spent 13 of the 23 seasons with the Milwaukee Braves, now known today as the Atlanta Braves. He spent a couple more seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers, where he broke Babe Ruth's home-run record in 1974.

I believe that Hank Aaron should be recognized as the true Home Run King (which I and the majority of the baseball community do), as opposed to Barry Bonds. I'll never praise steroid users like Barry Bonds, because he cheated for the home run record. He'll never be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. I'll never acknowledge that cheat as the Home Run King. Hank Aaron's 755 home runs should've been included in the MLB database and be given the title as the all-time home run leader, while Barry Bonds' record should be permanently erased.

The stories of the players who played in the Negro Leagues should be told more often, because they made a huge impact for the game of baseball. As of January 2024, 37 members are inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame based on their careers in the Negro Leagues, according to an article from MLB.com. To sum it up, black history (especially in sports) is part of American history. These aformentioned statistics are now part of MLB. As a baseball fan, I commend Major League Baseball for making this historic move. If you're a new fan to baseball, I suggest you start learning more about the Negro Leagues, including videos and the players themselves. Without them, players like Ichiro, Andrew McCutchen, Shohei Ohtani, and David Ortiz wouldn't exist today. They've opened many doors for players of other minorities.